Collapsible flat-lying luggage handle



Dec. l0, 1963 M. szABo COLLAPSIBLE FLAT-LYING LUGGAGE HANDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. l5. 1961 INVENTOR MTO/V .SZ/150 ,4 TTOIP/VEYJI Dec. 10, 1963 M. szABo 3,113,650

coLLAPsIBLE FLAT-LYING LUGGAGE HANDLE Filed oct. 13, 1961 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR MARTN SZABO www A TTOF/VEYJ United States Patent G "ce 3,113,659 CLLAPSBLE FLA'i'D-LYEJG LUGGAGE HANDLE Marton Szabo, Broomali, Pa., assigner to Philadelphia Handle Company, line., Qamden, NJ., a corporation of New .lersey Fiied Get. 13, 19M, Ser. No. 144,963 S Claims. (Cl. 19h-5S) This invention relates to a handle for luggage, carrying cases and similar containers adapted to be pulled into an arched carrying posi-tion and to be readily collapsed into a flat non-carrying position against a wall of tle container.

An object of this invention is to provide a flat-lying handle of the type disclosed in the Finkelstein Patent No. 2,962,138 which is equipped with a simple and effective means `serving 4the function of releasably retaining the handle in the arched carrying position and in the flat-lying collapsed position while restraining rattling or undue vibration of the handle, and in which the necessity of providing ears on the guide housings, `slots in the case wall to receive the ears and the considerable mechanical force heretofore required tot clinch said ears about the lcase wall is obviated.

An important object of the invention is to provide a collapsible flat-lying rattle-free handle of the character described which employs spring members in the guide housings for retaining the handle in its up and down positions that are removably rather than iixedly secured in the 'guide housings thereby simplifying the manufacture and assembly of the handle, as well as the adjustment of the spring and replacement and repair of parts.

These and other objects `of the invention will become more apparent as the ifollowing description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the handle in its collapsed flat-lying position taken on the line 1-i of -FGURE 2;

FGURE 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of FGURE `1;

FlGURE 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view similar to the right hand side o-f FIGURE 1 and illustrating the retention of the handle in the arched carrying position;

FGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a group perspective view of the guide housing, inner spring retaining member and spring in the form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 4;

iGURE 6 is a group perspective View of the inner spring retaining member and spring in another form of the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a bottom plan View of the units of FlG- URE 6 in an Yassembled condition.

Specific reference is now made to the drawings wherein similar reference characters are used for corresponding elements throughout.

The present invention relates to a handle construction of the type which is adapted to lie flat against a wall lil of a piece of luggage to which it is attached, las shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and -to be pulled into an arched carrying position as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. It is to be understood that the term luggage as used herein means briefcases, trunks, handbags, suitcases and any and all carrying cases, such for example as portable radios, phonographs, etc. The handle includes an elon gated strip or blade of steel `spring l2 suitable covered by leather, plastic or other material 14. At each end of the grip, la link is provided consisting of a cancavoconvex rectangular member having transverse members 3,ll3,65 Patented Dec. l0, 1963 i6 and 1S joined by longitudinal members 2@ and 22. The transverse member i6 of each link passes through a conventional hinge loop, see FlGURE 1, and includes a bar which `is riveted or otherwise secured as at 24 to each end of the spring y12.

The improved means to attach the ends ofthe handle to the wall llt of the luggage will now be described, attention 'being particularly called to FIGURES 1-5. Since both ends of the handle are secured to the luggage by two of .the same means, only one will be described hereafter.

A generally rectangular spring retainer member or housing 25 is provided having an upper wal-l 26 and side walls 28 and Si? and end walls 32 @and 34 adapted to rest upon the luggage wall itl. The retainer member or housing is attached to the luggage wall via i-ts upper wall 26 by any suitable means such as conventional staked in screws rand nuts 3S. The side walls 23 and Sib are provided with holes di?, the end wall 3.2 with hole 42 and the other end Wall 3d with holes `44 for a purpose soon to appear. If desired recesses may be used instead of holes.

The end Wall 3?. `of the retainer member or housing confronts the end of the handle while the end wall 3d is remote therefrom. End wall 32 is provided with spaced openings d6 `for slidably receiving the longitudinal members 2@ and 22 of the link, the transverse member 18 of the link ybeing disposed in the space between the upper wall 26 or" the plate and luggage wall llt). A resilient member d3 is provided in the form of a trifurcated piece of spring steel, the central fork Sil having a depending ilange 52 with a dimple or detent 54 protruding thererom. The member 43 also has a rear flange 55' and spaced dimples or detents S6- protruding therefrom. The other forks S8 `are spaced from the central fork providf ing a space through which the screws 3o extend, each fork 53 extending -below the upper Wall of the central fork and having an arcuate -low point, node or crest 6i).

For lfunctional and decorative purposes caps or guide housings 62 are provided each having an upper wall 64; from which depends side 'walls 66 and 68 and front and ear end walls and '72, the front wall having spaced slots 74. The `front end wall 7h is provided with a dimp-le or `detent 76 protruding therefrom and the side walls 66 and 68 are provided with similar spaced detents 78.

In operation, the spring member ed is pushed into the housing 25 until the detents 5d and S6 of the end lianges 52 and 55 thereof engage in the holes d2 and dd of the front and rear walls of said housing, there to be removably retained in position as such. If staked in screws 36 are used, these have already been in place and extend in the spaces between the end resilient forks 58. If other screws are used, these may be retained by the member 25 either before the spring is pushed there-into or may be put in place afterwards. The links are then assembled on the units by making the longitudinal members 2@ and 22 thereof extend through the openings 46 and then the screws 36 are passed through appropriate holes drilled in the case wall l@ to receive the closure nuts 38. The cap 52 is then slipped over the housing 25 until the detents '76 and 7S thereof engage in the holes 42 and dit respectively of the member 26. While for decorative purposes no detents are shown in rear end wall '72 for engagement in the holes le in the rear wall of member 26, such may be used for additional security, if desired.

In operation, when the handle is collapsed to a position where it lies substantially flat against the luggage wall, eachV link except for its outer transverse member 16 is almost wholly conned within the area bounded by the end lianges 52 and 55 and the fork 5@ of the spring member 48 and the luggage wall 1G. In this position, the

edge of the inner transverse member 2@ lies adjacent the rear of the fork it? and the nodal bowed portions 6l) of the forks S oi the spring press down on the longitudinal members Ztl and 22 of the link, preferably beyond the transverse center of the link in the direction of the end flange 52, as seen clearly in the drawings. Since the nodal portions dll are spaced above the case wall lli a distance equal or preferably less than the thickness of the longitudinal members of the link, thereby substantially restraining relative vertical movement between the link and the rear portion of the central fork Si).

When the handle is pulled or arched upwardly to the carrying position as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the inner transverse member i8 oi the link moves beneath the nodal portions @il of the spring member d8. The spring l2 in the handle grip, being arched or bowed, then exerts a force on the inner transverse members i8 urging them downwardly and outwardly against the luggage wall and free ends oi the forks 5S whereby the handle is lockingly retained by a snap action in its arched carrying position. A positive, fairly strong downward force on the arched handle is required to make the transverse link member l clear the nodal portions 65B so that the handle may be collapsed.

In the modication shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, the spring member Sil is similar to element 48 previously described in that it is a triiurcated unit having a at central fork b2 terminating in a protruding tip S4. The central fork is spaced as at Se from the end forks S8 which are disposed below the central fork and include low or nodal points 9@ adjacent one oi their ends. At their other ends the forks or tines S8 end in the plane of central fork 82 and include rearwardly protruding tips 92.

The spring retaining member or housing 94 is similar to member 25 and therefore includes an upper wall 9d with spaced holes 93 to receive the heads of staked in screws to attach the same to the case wall it), the screws being made to extend through the spaces S6 in the spring member Sil. It also includes side walls 160 which may or may not have holes to receive the detents '78 of the caps 62, a rear wall 1&2 and a front wall 104 with a hole 1% therethrough.

In this modication, the spring member S9 is pushed into the retainer housing 94 and is there held in place by frictional engagement of the tips 84 and 92 against the front and rear depending walls idd and 102 respectively. If desired, the width of the spring member 8b can be made to slightly exceed the distance between the inner surfaces of side walls lllll of retainer 94 to further provide for frictional engagement thereat. may then be placed over the member 94 and releasably held thereon by engagement oi the detent 76 of the cap in the hole ldd in the front wall ldd oi the member 94. Other holes in member 9d and detents in cap 62 may be provided for further security. The assembly of this modiiication on the hand grip and case wall and the functional behavior thereof with respect to the up and down positions of the handle are the same as for the modication of FIGURES l-5 described hereabove.

Attention is called to the fact that the spring members 4S and Sil are made somewhat longer than the internal length of the housing 25 and 94 to put them under tension and thereby improve the resiliency of the spring arms 58 and 88.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be understood that a skilled artisan may make minor variations in the combination and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible luggage handle comprised of a longitudinally iexible hand grip portion capable of being arched to a carrying position and liattened to a non-carrying position, a spring in said hand grip portion normally The cap 62 urging the same into said flattened position, links connected to opposite ends of said hand grip portion and means slidably mounting each link upon a luggage wall, said means including a housing adapted to be secured upon the luggage wall including an upper wall and depending end walls adapted to bear on the luggage wall, one of said end walls being slotted to slidably receive said link, a resilient member, means removably securing said resilient member in said housing, said resilient member including at least one portion bowed away from said upper wail, the crest of said bowed portion bearing on said link to prevent vertical rattling thereof in the housing when said handle is in the attened position, said spring in said hand grip portion urging a portion of said link against said bowed portion when said handle is in the arched carrying position to hold said handle in said carrying position when said handle is released, said resilient member including depending end walls and said means removably securing said resilient member in said housing including interengaging apertures and detents between adjacent end walls of said resilient member and said housing.

2. A collapsible luggage handle comprised of a longitudinally iiexible hand grip portion capable of being arched to a carrying position and flattened to a noncarrying position, a spring in said hand grip portion normally urging the same into said iiattened position, links connected to opposite ends of said hand grip portion and means slidablyy mounting each link upon a luggage wall, said means including a housing having an upper Wall and depending end walls adapted to bear on the luggage wall, one of said end walls being slotted to slidably receive said link, a resilient member having a pair of spring arms spaced from a central portion, elongated members carried by said upper wall of said housing and passing through the spaces so formed and adapted for attachment to a. luggage wall, said resilient member including end walls, and interengaging detents and recesses removably connecting the corresponding end walls of said resilient member and said housing, said spring arms including portions bowed away from said upper wall, the nodes of said bowed portions bearing on said link to prevent vertical rattling thereof in said housing when said handle is in the flattened position, said bowed portions coacting with said hand grip spring on said links to hold said handle in its arched carrying position.

3. A collapsible luggage handle comprised of a longitudinally ilexible hand grip portion capable of being arched to a carrying position and flattened to a noncarrying position, a spring in said hand grip portion normally urging the same into said flattened position, links connected to opposite ends of said hand grip portion and means slidably mounting each link upon a luggage wall, said means including a housing adapted to be secured upon the luggage wall including an upper wall and depending end Walls adapted to bear on the luggage wall, one of said end walls being slotted to slidably receive said link, a resilient member engageable with said link to releasably and selectively retain said handle in said arched carrying and flattened non-carrying positions, said resilient member including depending end walls, and interengaging detents and recesses between adjacent end Walls of said resilient member and said housing to removably secure said resilient member to said housing.

4. A collapsible luggage handle comprised of a longitudinally flexible hand grip portion capable of being arched to a carrying position and flattened to a noncarrying position, a spring in said hand grip portion normally urging the same into said attened position, links connected to opposite ends of said hand grip portion and means slidably mounting each link upon a luggage wall, said means including a housing adapted to be secured upon the luggage wall including an upper wall and depending end walls adapted to bear on the luggage wall, one of said end walls being slotted to slidably receive said link, a resilient member engageable with said link to releasably and selectively retain said handle in said arched carrying and flattened non-carrying positions, said resilient member including end portions having detents engageable with adjacent end Walls of said housing to removably secure said resilient member to said housing.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said recesses are apertures through the end walls ot said housing and said detents are protuberances on the end walls of said resilient member which extend into said apertures from the inside of said housing, and a cap encompassing said housing having upper, side and end Walls and a protuberance in at least one end Wall of said cap extending into one of said apertures in an adjacent end Wall of said housing from the outside thereof to removably secure said cap to said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENS 2,673,630 Axtell Mar. 30, 1954 2,745,689 Balint et al May 15, 1956 2,962,138 Finkelstein NOV. 29, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 306,230 Great Britain Mar. 7, 1929 346,327 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1931 

4. A COLLAPSIBLE LUGGAGE HANDLE COMPRISED OF A LONGITUDINALLY FLEXIBLE HAND GRIP PORTION CAPABLE OF BEING ARCHED TO A CARRYING POSITION AND FLATTENED TO A NONCARRYING POSITION, A SPRING IN SAID HAND GRIP PORTION NORMALLY URGING THE SAME INTO SAID FLATTENED POSITION, LINKS CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID HAND GRIP PORTION AND MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTING EACH LINK UPON A LUGGAGE WALL, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A HOUSING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED UPON THE LUGGAGE WALL INCLUDING AN UPPER WALL AND DEPENDING END WALLS ADAPTED TO BEAR ON THE LUGGAGE WALL, ONE OF SAID END WALLS BEING SLOTTED TO SLIDABLY RECEIVE SAID LINK, A RESILIENT MEMBER ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID LINK TO RELEASABLY AND SELECTIVELY RETAIN SAID HANDLE IN SAID ARCHED CARRYING AND FLATTENED NON-CARRYING POSITIONS, SAID RESILIENT MEMBER INCLUDING END PORTIONS HAVING DETENTS ENGAGEABLE WITH ADJACENT END WALLS OF SAID HOUSING TO REMOVABLY SECURE SAID RESILIENT MEMBER TO SAID HOUSING. 